The future of college sports was the main point of discussion at a Senate hearing on Wednesday. To show his support, President Donald Trump released an official statement on the situation. While the statement carried a message of hope for college football, the President heavily condemned the current system.

“The goal was to find a Bipartisan solution to fix the problem,” President Trump said in his statement. “Based on these meetings and the expertise of the Leading Authorities, I signed an Executive Order, but I always said that the best solution was to get a Bipartisan Act of Congress to my desk in order to save a long and embarrassing ROAD THROUGH HELL for these Institutions.

“College Sports, a Great American Institution that produces our many Athletes, Leaders, and Olympic Dominance, is a total “mess,” and everyone is saying that it must be fixed. After unending lawsuits and crazed rulings, there are virtually no limits anymore, and soon most Colleges won’t have Sports because each and every one of them will be bankrupt, never to be heard from again.”

One of the main focuses of President Trump’s administration has been stabilizing college athletics. As a result, he has taken both executive and legislative actions to salvage the situation. In April, he signed an executive order, “Urgent National Action to Save College Sports.” The order urged the NCAA to enforce rules regarding transfer activities, athlete eligibility, and NIL deals. Fortunately, he received support from the NCAA and Power Four commissioners, who called it “a significant step forward.”

Most importantly, the president has been pushing for a bipartisan act because he sees how easily executive orders can be reversed. He got his wish through Senators Ted Cruz and Maria Cantwell, who championed the Protect College Sports Act in the Senate. With his statement, President Trump endorsed the Protect College Sports Act.

“I’d like to thank Senators Ted Cruz, Eric Schmitt, Maria Cantwell, and Chris Coons, among others, for introducing the Protect College Sports Act.”

He also expressed his gratitude to the House for their tireless work to ensure a solution is reached, with special thanks to Speaker Mike Johnson and Leader Steve Scalise “for their work to fix this very major problem.” The President recognizes the efforts as a genuine attempt to “stop the chaos,” and “may be the last chance to save college football”. Finally, he urged the House and the Senate to pass a bipartisan bill for his signature this summer.

Wednesday’s Senate Hearing for the Protect College Sports Act

The Senate hearing on Wednesday morning featured testimony from former Alabama head coach Nick Saban, Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua, Pac-12 commissioner Teresa Gould, former West Virginia president Gordon Gee, and Utah defensive end Lance Holtzclaw.

The Act aims to provide the NCAA with an antitrust exemption to enforce rules that would require athletes to transfer only once without penalty, cap eligibility to a maximum of 5 years, and prohibit former professional athletes from playing in college.

Although the Senate hearing did not come without its backlash for the witnesses. Nick Saban has been under fire for advocating regulations on player salaries, while coaches have no caps on their earnings, especially given their outrageous buyout clauses.